Amy (15)

four stars

Dir: Asif Kapadia

Runtime: 128 minutes

PERHAPS the most heart-rending parts of Asif Kapadia's outstanding look at the life of Amy Winehouse are the segments featuring the singer in her teenage years, when she was brimming with life and talent, everything ahead of her. What the "everything" turned out to be is set out in painstaking detail by the director of Senna. It is all here - the drugs, the marriage, the meltdowns, blending with previously unseen footage, voicemails from pals and interviews. The arguments about who and what was to blame for what happened will rage on long after this film, but there is no doubting the searing talent of Winehouse, or that Kapadia has done a masterly job of documenting it.

Still the Water (15)

three stars

Dir: Naomi Kawase

With: Jun Yoshinaga, Nijiro Murakami

Runtime: 116 minutes

NOTHING ever seems to happen on the Japanese island of Amami, so when a naked body is washed ashore the town comes alive with speculation as to what has happened. Teenagers Kyoko and Kaito (Jun Yoshinaga, Nijiro Murakami), their friendship turning to something more, have their own concerns but they too soon find themselves caught up in the tumult. For good and ill, this drama by Naomi Kawase (Mourning Forest) takes its cue from the word "still", with long shots of the sea and a sedate pace only relieved by moments of intense drama.

Glasgow Film Theatre, July 3-9

Minions (U)

three stars

Dirs: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda

Voices: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm

Runtime: 91 minutes

THE gibberish-spouting blobs from Despicable Me were such a hit with young audiences it was only a matter of time before they were given their own movie, and here it is. Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm provide the human touch by voicing villainess Scarlett Overkill and her hubby Herb. While the jokes for adults are tired, the sheer energy and epic silliness will keep younger cinemagoers pinioned to their seats.